


Our Destiny

by luvrvision



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Explicit Language, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:47:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24640318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luvrvision/pseuds/luvrvision
Summary: Josh's girlfriend refuses to leave him behind when the rescue team comes.
Relationships: Josh Washington/Reader
Kudos: 54





	Our Destiny

**Author's Note:**

> Some events and sequences don't line up with the game (like the lodge burning).

"What do you mean you left him down there?"

Michael took a step back, placing distance between him and the seething girl in front of him.

"You were supposed to go get him and the key, not leave him down there to die!" she shrieked. Her voice was shrill, akin to a banshee. "What the fuck is wrong with you, Michael? I've known you to do stupid things but this, this really takes the fucking cake!"

"I'm sorry (Y/N), I really am, but what the fuck was I supposed to do? It was a miracle I got away from that freak the first time it dragged me under the water. There was no way I could've-"

(Y/N) barked, "But you didn't even try, did you?"

"Try what, getting myself killed?" Michael threw his hands up in defeat and shook his head. "I don't know what more you expect of me."

Ashley took a tentative step forward and placed a hand on her stricken friend's shoulder. (Y/N) allowed her to guide her away to sit on the couch, but it didn't stop her from snarling at Michael some more.

"I can't believe you just left Josh to die, you fucking bastard."

Michael exploded. "You know what, (Y/N)? Did you even stop to consider how I fucking felt in that moment? The traumatic night I've had too? I've searched those mines and that sanitorium so much tonight, I've been scared out of my fucking mind, nearly lost Jess... I'm physically and mentally exhausted! I've been through so much. How the hell was I supposed to fight a Wendigo for Josh, no matter how much I wanted to? Did you stop to consider the weight I'm going to carry? I knew as soon as that thing grabbed him that it was over. That I'm the last person ever going to see him alive. I can't even begin to describe that kind of heaviness to you. And to top it all off, that water was freezing!"

The room was silent. Seconds turned into minutes as the two stared at each other. Nobody else dared to move. (Y/N) was the first to break eye contact. Her anger finally boiled over into grief and she let out a wail and buried her face in her hands. The room was still for moments more as everybody watched, hearts heavy, as (Y/N)'s body shook and sobs tore from her throat.

Michael slowly moved to sit beside her, placing his hand on her knee to offer some form of comfort. (Y/N) pushed his hand away and instead turned towards him, burying herself in his shoulder. He gently hugged her into him and allowed her to cry before speaking.

"You're my best friend. I'm so sorry I couldn't save him. You know I would've tried if there had been something to try, (Y/N). If I hadn't been alone down there, I promise you I would've done something to help him. I know it hurts, (Y/N). I'm sorry."

"N-No. You're right," (Y/N) managed between sobs. She pulled away from him, wiped her eyes, and breathed deeply in an attempt to compose herself before continuing, "You're right. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I know you would've done something if you could've. It was unfair of me to expect something like that from you, especially after all the shit you've experienced tonight. I'm glad you made it out, Mike."

Michael smiled gratefully and embraced her again, both of them feeling some semblance of happiness for the first time that night. Everybody else finally relaxed. They knew better than to interrupt the twos' argument, but they were glad it was finally over.

"I'm really sorry about Josh, (Y/N). We all are," Ashley spoke from beside her.

"I know." (Y/N) nodded. She stood and wiped her face, then crossed the room to the window. Ashley joined her, and the brunette's face lit up when she peered through the glass.

"Guys! Dawn is breaking!" she cried, turning to face the rest of the group. Everybody burst into broken cheers and celebrated as best they could given the situation, but (Y/N) couldn't ignore the feeling in her gut. She turned back to the window, gnawing her lip, before she turned to grab the shotgun off the table.

"(Y/N), what are you doing? We don't need that, the rescue team will be here soon," Emily reminded her. Everybody watched as she loaded the gun and went to the door.

"(Y/N)..." Sam said nervously.

"I'm going to get him," (Y/N) declared. "I can't leave with the rescue team knowing he may still be alive."

"That's crazy and you know it!" Emily exclaimed. "He's dead, (Y/N)."

"That's a suicide mission, (Y/N). I saw that thing grab him. There's no way he's alive," Michael said. He stepped towards her to stop her, but (Y/N) pointed the gun at him. "As your best friend, I'm begging you, don't do this."

"You can't stop me."

And then she was gone. Michael was left standing at the doorway in stunned silence. A loud booming noise filled the air and the group immediately registered the sound as a helicopter. The rescue team had arrived.

"Michael, please don't go after her," Jess pleaded as she walked towards him. He turned around, back to the door, head hung low.

"I'm not," he bit out. "I'm not going after her. She made her choice. But goddamn, I'm going to fucking miss her."

_______________

(Y/N) heard the helicopter overhead and the temptation to turn back was strong. She was so close, so close to getting away from this hellhole. She could move on from the trauma of tonight and Josh would become nothing more than a memory to her. All she had to do was go back to the lodge.

But she couldn't.

Josh needed her. His memory couldn't just sit around in everybody's minds and collect dust until one day it just drifts away.

She was going to save him or die trying.

The cold bit at her face yet she pressed on, the whistling wind and snow crunching beneath her boots fading away into a dull static in her ears. The sun climbed higher in the sky, bit by bit, and she recalled what the stranger had told them about Wendigos hunting at night. She was safe in these woods, but she knew the Wendigo didn't differentiate between night and day down in the mines and she would have to be alert.

Finally, after what felt like forever, she came to the opening she and the others had exited the tunnels from. Just before she ducked into the darkness, she heard the unmistakable noise of a helicopter filling the air again. Her friends were safe.

And she would be too, she told herself. All she had to do was find Josh, and then they could leave together the same way they would've if this all had never happened.

Wishful thinking, huh?

(Y/N) wove through the disorienting tunnels and as she went deeper, she couldn't ignore the feeling that she wasn't alone. She told herself she was sharp, alert, but how alert can one be after having such an exciting all nighter?

Finally, she reached what she deemed to be the deep enough in the mine. There had been no sign of life other than her on the way.

Taking a deep breath, (Y/N) called, "Josh?"

_______________

"There are definitely survivors. Let's pick 'em up."

The helicopter landed in a clearing not far from the house, and the group made a mad dash towards freedom and safety. Well, as mad a dash they could muster, considering they were all sore and exhausted.

"Alright, first things first, you guys. Immediate care," one of the rangers in the chopper announced as she climbed to the ground. "You, in the braids. Come here. Oh, your poor chest... And you, with the nasty bite on your shoulder, go to David."

After everybody was bandaged up, it was time to get in the helicopter and leave. Michael hung back after helping Jess into the machine, staring back into the woods. There was a small hope in the back of his mind that (Y/N) had heard the rescue team and had decided to come back.

"Get inside the 'copter, sir," a male ranger instructed him.

"Hey man, uh... one of our friends left just before you guys got here. She, uh, went looking for another one of our friends... in the mines. Do you think you could send some people to go look for her? Our other friend is dead. We told her that, but she wouldn't listen to us," Michael explained, rubbing the back of his neck a bit sheepishly.

"Not right now sir, but once we get you lot back safely, I'll send a team down there to look for her. What's her name?"

"(Y/N). Uh, the guy she went looking for is Josh."

"Alright. We'll try to find her and your friend's body, now please, get in the chopper."

Michael nodded and climbed inside, seating himself beside Jess and absently putting on the protective headphones that were thrust into his lap. He stared emptily towards the woods as they ascended, and he had a sinking feeling he was never going to see (Y/N) again.

_______________

"(Y/N)?"

She whirled around, eyes flying open as she took in the figure before her. It was no doubt her beloved Josh, but something was different about him. His skin was paler, and his eyes seemed more sunken. She ignored the differences and threw herself at him, tears flooding her eyes again.

"Josh, they told me you were dead!" she cried, burying her face in his neck. "I thought I was never going to see you again!"

"You came back for me..." Josh smiled sadly.

"Of course I did," (Y/N) assured him, pulling away to smile lovingly at him.

"You shouldn't have."

"W-What?" (Y/N) stepped back.

"You shouldn't have come back for me, (Y/N). You should've stayed with the rest of them. You could've been safe. Why'd you come back?" His voice was full of sadness. He felt warm for the first time in hours, but incredibly cold at the same time. (Y/N), his darling (Y/N), had come back to save him. She had chosen him over safety. And it meant the world to him. But it broke his heart that she was going to die now, or worse.

"Josh, what do you mean? We can both be safe. I made it down here to you with no problem, all we have to do is go back out!" she explained, tugging on his arm.

"You can, baby. I can't."

"Why not?"

"I-I'm changing. Into one of them."

"One of the monsters?" (Y/N) whispered. Josh nodded sadly.

"You can still make it out. It's too late for me."

"It's too late for me too. The rescue team came. They're already gone," (Y/N) told him in a soft voice, tears rolling down her reddened cheek. Josh lowered his head.

"You'll turn into one of them too if you stay down here," he warned. "You don't want that."

"I know," (Y/N) whispered, taking Josh's hand in her own. "I don't want it. But I don't want it for you, either. I can't leave you down here by yourself. I can't. Even if it means I become one of them too."

Josh pulled her into a hug so she wouldn't see his tears. He couldn't bear the thought of her becoming a Wendigo, but a darker part of him was glad he wouldn't be alone in the transformation. They pulled away, and Josh lead (Y/N) even deeper into the eery tunnels, ready to spend the rest of cannibalistic eternity with her.


End file.
